You may remember last year we checked out the Nextbase 212 dash cam. Well Nextbase got in touch again but this time, with the 212’s bigger brother, the 312! The 312 is the next dash cam up in the Nextbase range and now includes GPS tracking and WiFi connectivity. The 312 is still one of their mid range cams but with these extra features, it looks to be a solid choice for anyone wanting to purchase their first dash cam. Without further adieu, lets get into the review!

Tech Spec:

140 degree wide angle view with full 1080p High Definition recording at 30fps

2.7” LED display

3M pixel sensor / 6 glass lens with F1.8 aperture

Inbuilt G sensor to record force data

SOS data protection prevents the impact/event recording from being deleted

First off, this is an in car dash cam only, there is no waterproof feature to it. As you can see from the spec above, it records in full 1080p HD qaulity, at 30 frames per second, which is more than enough quality to record any incidents. The additional features to the 312 over the 212 is the built in WiFi and the GPS tracking. The WiFi allows you to download footage, straight to your smart device, via WiFi, instead of having to insert the memory card into a PC. I know there is an on board screen, so you can watch back footage but the screen on your smart device is more than likely bigger, which offers a better viewing experience and the video will also be compressed and shareable between friends, or perhaps even the police straight after an accident. This feature works on both iOS & Android devices. The second new feature is the built in GPS, allowing you to track your journey and pin point exactly where an incident occurred & the speed it happened at, which could easily sway any insurance claims in your favor.

Inside the box you get the cam itself, powered GPS mount, car power cable, USB cable, instructions and a sexy bumper sticker you can stick on your car! The cam itself is very small, lightweight and discrete. On the front of the cam is the lens itself, plus the mounting point and a small speaker. To the rear of the camera, you have the 2.7″ colour display (not touchscreen) and a number of buttons, used to control the cam. On the top of the camera is an AV out, which allows you to plug the cam into a TV (cable not supplied) and the DC power in. On the bottom is the reset button and to the right side is the SD card slot.

Setting up the camera was a breeze, it is very much a plug and play device. The worst part of setting it up is where you hide the power cable, its a nightmare and its the same with most dash cams. If you have the patience and skill, you can feed the cable within the car trim/roof lining, or perhaps you just dont care, and in that case, it doesn’t matter! The instructions suggest a location for the cam, which is to the left of your rear view mirror, which will give you the best overall recording view. The mount is like any other, one of those suction cup type arrangements, and you need to plug the power cable into the mount, not the cam itself, the cam actually clips into the mount.

There are a number of settings and options that can be adjusted to suit your needs, all of which are very easy to find and navigate using the buttons & screen. The camera automatically starts recording and will continue to record until you tell it not to, not when the engine turns off! Recordings are split into small video clips and the newest clips, override the older clips when storage space becomes an issue. The camera will detect when you have been hit in an accident and will automatically protect the current and most recent video clips, meaning you cannot accidentally delete them.

As for the video quality, its identical to the 212 which we previously reviewed, it has the identical lens/capabilities. We liked it then, we like it now and if you want to see the quality for yourself, here’s some sample footage of the 212!

I had to try out the new features and I have to say they were both very easy to use and very beneficial. I hooked the cam upto my iPhone via the WiFi and could easy view/download videos on my phone. The GPS feature is also easy to view but this can only be done on a PC, via the supplied software.

Overall, this is a great entry level dash cam, that has a lot of useful features and records at a high quality, which is more than capable of identifying number plates or accident details. It retails at £99.99, £30 more than the 212. Would I pay the extra for the added features…for me yes, but if the extra features don’t interest you, the 212 is there.